Chapter 57: Forget About the Child's Real Father!

"Indeed, it is because of it," Ming Xi said calmly. "Actually, it is quite laughable. Ever since I lost my ability to cultivate, my father's attitude toward me became extremely cold, and he even grew utterly disgusted by my very existence! After Little Tong was born, the family's honor was completely ruined by me! Yet, do you know why my father still endured me time and time again?"

Ah? That was true! Why hadn't she thought of this question?

Logically speaking, someone like Ming Xi, who had ruined the family's reputation, should have long been driven out or dealt with in secret. In short, she should never have met with a good end.

Yet that fellow Ming Yao had acted like an all-around good person, protecting Ming Xi time and time again. When Ming Xi had just transmigrated here, she had witnessed Ming Yao deal Ming Yue a fierce slap simply to uphold Ming Xi's honor. It had seemed as though he truly did not mind such humiliation, treating this useless daughter with peace of mind.

"Perhaps it's simply because, no matter what, he is still a father and doesn't want to see his daughter get hurt..." Ming Xi could only judge it this way, and had always believed it to be true. After all, throughout the entire Ming Estate, counting them one by one, Ming Yao was the only one whose attitude toward her was barely passing!

"You truly are a little fox," Ming Xi smiled and shook her head. "What should I say about you? You haven't the slightest idea what kind of person my father is! As the Prime Minister, how much corruption and bribery has my father engaged in, and how many incriminating handles has he left behind in the imperial court? Therefore, the moment he learned that Little Tong was the child of an orc tribe chieftain, his ambition to gather power was stirred. Otherwise, how could he possibly have allowed me to give birth to the child? Furthermore, the Scarlet Roar spear is not some heirloom of the Ming Estate at all. The notion that it is an heirloom is merely a rumor spread to the outside world. In truth... the Scarlet Roar was brought back by me from the orc tribe! Ming Xi, you did nothing wrong in taking it, because both it and the Oracle rightfully belong to me!!"

"..."

"The Scarlet Roar is one of the inner divine artifacts of the orc tribe. Legend has it that such a divine artifact is extremely picky about its master and is difficult to form a pact with. However, once a pact is successfully forged, one obtains profound energy that directly transcends realms. Moreover, the wielder of the divine artifact will become a presence that the orcs must submit to, and even hold the qualifications to become the chieftain of the orc tribe! Perhaps the kind-hearted are easily bullied and gentle horses are easily ridden; all these years, those people in the Ming Estate forcibly seized the Scarlet Roar and the Oracle, proclaiming to the outside world that they were the Ming family heirlooms, and locked these two treasures away in the forbidden grounds of the Ming Estate. Countless times over the years, they attempted to forge a blood pact with the Scarlet Roar, but not once did they succeed. As long as I do not tell them the method to form a pact with the Scarlet Roar, it will forever remain an unattainable swan song to them! Especially that overbearing Ming Yue, who once swore that after advancing to the Heavenly Profound realm, she would surely bind the Scarlet Roar. Because of this, I suffered no end of abuse from her. But... all these years, I have remained tight-lipped about the method to bind the Scarlet Roar."

Therefore, even though Ming Xi had endured beatings and humiliation all these years, no one had ever harbored the intent to kill her. It was precisely because if Ming Xi were to die, the secret to binding the Scarlet Roar would also become a secret forever!

"All these years, for the sake of myself and Little Tong, I had to do this. Only in this way could I safeguard our lives and ensure this child could grow up safely! Besides, those people are utterly unworthy of binding the Scarlet Roar! Even less are they worthy of receiving the submission of the orc tribe!"

As Ming Xi spoke, somehow, tears overflowed from the corners of her eyes. Considering she was clearly a ghost right now, how could that even be possible...

Ming Xi's mouth hung slightly open, yet she did not know what to say. It felt as though, at this very moment, she had truly come to understand the person named Ming Xi.

Her name was Ming Xi, the seventh young miss of the Ming Estate, regarded by the world as a good-for-nothing.

A woman who had lost her cultivation talent from a tender age and thereafter endured endless mockery. What she had actually experienced in the orc tribe territory at the age of sixteen, she had never once mentioned.

Whether she had been violated by the orcs or if there were other hidden circumstances, she had never spoken of it. She had always faced those gossiping rumors with indifference, without a single complaint, as if she had grown detached from this mortal world.

The world only knew that she had returned, bearing a child that was neither human nor ghost, and treated it as a joke.

The people of the estate only knew that she had returned, bringing back peerless treasures from the orc tribe—the Scarlet Roar and the Oracle.

The people of the Ming Estate had tried repeatedly to bind these peerless treasures, yet ultimately failed to grasp the key. Even with a mix of soft and hard tactics, Ming Xi never once revealed how to use the secret treasures. Precisely because of this, Ming Xi finally secured a reason to keep living within the estate, along with a value of existence that made her mock herself countless times!

No one knew what she had truly endured among the orc tribe. They only knew that she treated Little Tong wholeheartedly, determined to raise this bizarre child—reviled by the world as a bastard—even though she had suffered immensely over the years!

Her sole conviction deep within her heart lay in Ming Yao's accumulating crimes, which made her firmly believe that one day Ming Yao would be reduced to destitution, and the Ming family would eventually fall!

As long as she waited for that day, she and Little Tong would be free, and that day would soon arrive...

Through sheer tenacity, Ming Xi had persevered all these years. No matter what the world called her, no matter how people mocked her and Little Tong's existence, she simply did not care!

She had believed that the dawn would eventually arrive, firmly trusting that she would see the day her hardships finally paid off!

However...

Never in her wildest dreams could she have anticipated that she would be schemed against, drowned by the shores of Wisteria Lake, and that the world would be deceived into thinking she had jumped into the river to commit suicide!

Never in her wildest dreams could she have expected that after her death, her body would actually be possessed by a fox devoid of human emotions! From then on, this little fox would live on in her place, taking care of Little Tong in her stead...

Therefore, she felt unreconciled. A powerful obsession caused her soul to refuse to completely depart.

She wanted to meet this little fox, she had to meet this little fox... She still had so many things she wanted to tell this little fox, to tell this creature who was going to live in her place!

...Otherwise, she simply could not leave this world with peace of mind!

"Ming Xi..." Ming Xi heard it, she heard every single word...

Ming Xi's innermost thoughts, she had heard them all!!

She had never imagined that these were the truths of Ming Xi!

"Ming Xi, rest assured! I will accomplish it! I will not let you down!"

Ming Xi nodded. Even though she was merely a little fox, she could perceive the resolve in this little fox's heart!

"Actually, the reason you were able to form a blood pact with the Scarlet Roar is very simple as well. Because the Scarlet Roar naturally belongs to you!" Ming Xi said as she handed the key to Ming Xi. "And the key to using the Scarlet Roar lies within this key! Insert it into the interior of the Scarlet Roar, and the Scarlet Roar will automatically activate!"

"Oh! It's really that simple?" Ming Xi found it a bit hard to believe.

"That's right, it's just that simple!" Ming Xi smiled and nodded. "Little fox, can I ask one final favor of you..."

"Go ahead!"

"Take good care of the child, and promise me... forget the child's biological father."